tragedy
Grief on stage
Tragedy originally meant a serious dramatic work depicting the downfall of a noble protagonist through fate or fatal flaw—Greek tragedies, Shakespearean tragedies.
The word now more commonly describes any deeply sad event, especially one involving death or suffering: The fire was a tragedy that claimed six lives.
A small tragedy is a lesser but still lamentable misfortune: It would be a tragedy to let this opportunity pass.
Greek founder of formal logic
- catharsisPurification through emotional expression
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- hamartiaFatal error causing downfall
- protagonistStory's central figure
downfall · fatal flaw · nemesis · chorus · pathos · reversal · recognition · dramatic irony
Devastating, large-scale misfortune
- calamitySevere misfortune or disaster
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- earthquakeSeismic ground movement
- tsunamiSeismic sea surge
hurricane · flood · wildfire · famine · pandemic · shipwreck · plane crash · collapse
Deep emotional distress
- mourningPeriod following loss
- bereavementState following loss
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- heartbreakCrushing emotional pain
loss · despair · tears · suffering · lamentation · woe · devastation · inconsolable
Certain to occur
- doomUnavoidable grim fate
- destinyPredetermined course of events
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- downfallSudden loss of power
ruin · cursed · ill-fated · star-crossed · nemesis · prophecy · omen · foretold
Classical Athenian playwright
- EuripidesGreek tragic dramatist
- AeschylusFather of tragedy
- OedipusTragic Greek king
- AntigoneTheban princess who honored forbidden burial
Medea · Electra · Agamemnon · Prometheus · Trojan Women · Orestes · chorus · amphitheater
Curved line segment
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
- fallDescend under gravity
- heroOne admired for courage
protagonist · flaw · reversal · conflict · stakes · moral · lesson · cautionary tale
Danish prince's revenge tragedy
- MacbethAmbitious thane's downfall
- OthelloVenetian military commander
- Romeo and JulietTragedy of rival households
- Julius CaesarRoman dictator and general
King Lear · Coriolanus · Antony and Cleopatra · soliloquy · Globe Theatre · Elizabethan · iambic pentameter · Stratford-upon-Avon
Aristotle
Greek founder of formal logic
- catharsisPurification through emotional expression
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- hamartiaFatal error causing downfall
protagonist · downfall · fatal flaw · nemesis · chorus · pathos · reversal · recognition · dramatic irony · hero
catastrophe
Devastating, large-scale misfortune
- calamitySevere misfortune or disaster
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- earthquakeSeismic ground movement
tsunami · hurricane · flood · wildfire · famine · pandemic · shipwreck · plane crash · collapse · massacre
sorrow
Deep emotional distress
- mourningPeriod following loss
- bereavementState following loss
- anguishIntense mental suffering
heartbreak · loss · despair · tears · suffering · lamentation · woe · devastation · inconsolable · funeral
inevitable
Certain to occur
downfall · ruin · cursed · ill-fated · star-crossed · nemesis · prophecy · omen · foretold · inescapable
Sophocles
Classical Athenian playwright
Antigone · Medea · Electra · Agamemnon · Prometheus · Trojan Women · Orestes · chorus · amphitheater · Athens
arc
Curved line segment
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
- fallDescend under gravity
hero · protagonist · flaw · reversal · conflict · stakes · moral · lesson · cautionary tale · epic
Hamlet
Danish prince's revenge tragedy
- MacbethAmbitious thane's downfall
- OthelloVenetian military commander
- Romeo and JulietTragedy of rival households
King Lear · Julius Caesar · Coriolanus · Antony and Cleopatra · soliloquy · Globe Theatre · Elizabethan · iambic pentameter · Stratford-upon-Avon · five acts
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- Ancient Greece & RomeGreek myths, Roman myths, mythology, muses, Apollo
- book genresfiction, novels, nonfiction, mystery, thriller
- dramaTV drama, acting, television drama, drama school, playwright
- humanitiesphilosophy, history, literature, philosophy class, novels
- literary formsnovel, novels, novella, poetry, poetry collections
tragedyjoy
Intense positive emotion
happiness · elation · jubilation · bliss · celebration
- classic tragedyDrama ending in catastrophe
- classical tragedySerious ancient drama, catastrophic ending
- comedy and tragedy
- national tragedyDisaster striking whole country
- Greek tragedyClassical dramatic form featuring downfall
- modern tragedySerious play, present setting